The Raid on Pebble Island was a raid by British Special Forces on

Pebble Island Pebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands, situated north of West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by th ...

's airfield during the Falklands War, and took place on the night of 14–15 May 1982. Pebble Island is one of the smaller

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, lying north of

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...

. The site was being used as a forward operating base for

T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...

and

Pucara Pukara (Aymara and Quechuan "fortress", Hispanicized spellings ''pucara, pucará'') is a defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area (from Ecuador to central Chile and no ...

aircraft by the Argentine Air Force; British Special Air Service (SAS) operatives were tasked with destroying the aircraft on the ground, in an operation that echoed back to some of the unit's first missions during the North African Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. SAS elements, then embarked on HMS ''Hermes'', were tasked with eliminating the airfield, with naval support from the

Type 22 frigate The Type 22 frigate also known as the ''Broadsword'' class was a class of frigates built for the British Royal Navy. Fourteen were built in total, with production divided into three batches. Initially intended to be anti-submarine warfare fri ...

HMS ''Broadsword'' as ''Hermes'' defensive escort and the

County-class destroyer The County class was a class of British guided missile destroyers, the first such warships built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Seaslug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air defence aro ...

HMS ''Glamorgan'' to provide

naval gunfire support Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibiou ...

with its Mark 6 4.5 inch guns. During the night of 14 May, two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters of

846 Naval Air Squadron 846 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Between December 1979 and the summer of 2013, 846 Naval Air Squadron operated the Westland Sea King HC4 helicopter to provide troop transport and load lifting support to ...

departed with 45 members of D Squadron on board. The force infiltrated the airfield without alarm allowing them to lay charges on seven of the aircraft. Once all the aircraft had been prepared the raiding team opened fire on the aircraft with small arms and L1A1 rockets. All of the aircraft were damaged, with some having their undercarriages shot away. Following this cue ''Glamorgan'' began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores. The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had re-grouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was wounded by an Argentine IED while the raiding party returned fire, resulting in the death of the Argentine commanding officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort. The wounded man was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party reaching the aircraft by the required time for transportation back to ''Hermes'' before daybreak.

Background

Immediately after the Argentinians had seized the Falkland Islands they established a small airbase, Aeródromo Auxiliar Calderón, on

(Argentine name: isla Borbón) using the local airstrip on which were based Argentine Air Force's

FMA IA 58 Pucará The FMA IA 58 Pucará ( qu, Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capa ...

and some Argentine Naval Aviation's T-34 Mentor light

ground attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...

Reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

by these aircraft could have compromised the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's manoeuvres before its intended landing on

East Falkland East Falkland ( es, Isla Soledad) is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as La ...

. SAS elements, then embarked on HMS ''Hermes'', were tasked with eliminating the threat, with naval support from the

HMS ''Broadsword'' as ''Hermes defensive escort and the County class destroyer HMS ''Glamorgan'' to provide

with its Mark 6 4.5 inch guns. The Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observer (NGSFO) who was responsible for co-ordinating the

was Captain Chris Brown RA of 148 Battery

29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery ...

Planning

Initial intentions

Initial intentions were for a squadron-strength air insertion from ''Hermes'' using personnel from D Squadron, 22 Regiment. The raiding party would destroy the deployed aircraft, radar site, ground crew, and force protection garrison before helicopter exfiltration to return to ''Hermes'' before daybreak.

Reconnaissance

for the raid was conducted by personnel from the Boat Troop of D Squadron, who infiltrated by Klepper canoe. The patrol found that strong headwinds would increase the time taken to fly in from ''Hermes'', delaying time on target and reducing the available offensive window to thirty minutes from the planned ninety. In light of this information, the planning emphasised the importance of destroying the aircraft as a priority, with support personnel as a secondary priority.

The raid

During the night of 14 May, two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters of

departed with 45 members of D Squadron on board. The delivery point was from the airstrip on Pebble Island. Mountain Troop was tasked with the destruction of the Argentine aircraft, while the remaining personnel acted as a protection force, securing approaches to the airstrip, and forming an operational reserve. The raiding party unloaded over 100

L16 81mm Mortar The L16 81mm mortar is a British standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, w ...

bombs, explosive charges, and Rocket 66mm HEAT L1A1 Light Anti-tank Weapons to carry into the engagement zone from the helicopters, with each man in the raiding party carrying at least two mortar bombs. For small arms,

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-ro ...

s were used, some with underslung M203 grenade launchers. Approach navigation was conducted by a member of the Boat Troop who had carried out the reconnaissance.

Action

As the raiding party approached the target, they spotted an Argentine sentry but were not seen, allowing them to lay charges on seven of the aircraft. Once all the aircraft had been prepared, the raiding team opened fire on the aircraft with small arms and rockets. All of the aircraft were damaged, with some having their undercarriages shot away. Following this cue, ''Glamorgan'' began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores. The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had re-grouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was wounded by an Argentine IED. The raiding party returned fire using small arms and M203 grenade launchers, resulting in the death of the Argentine commanding officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort. The Argentine version states that their marines remained in shelters during the shelling by ''Glamorgan'', so they were unable to face the SAS in combat. The British soldier's injury was the result of shrapnel from exploding charges planted by the Argentines under the airstrip in order to deny its use to the enemy. The blasts were triggered in the belief that the operation was a full-scale assault to take over the air base.

Exfiltration

The wounded soldier was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party, who reached the aircraft in time for transportation back to ''Hermes'' before daybreak. The party decided to proceed with exfiltration instead of returning to attack the defending force.

Aftermath

Destroyed Argentine Pucara aircraft Pebble Island 1982

Assets destroyed during the raid totalled: *Six

sA-502, A-523, A-529, A-552, A-556 (''

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

'') *Four Turbo Mentor trainer/light attack aircraft (''

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

'') *One Short SC.7 Skyvan utility transport aircraft (''

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

'') *Destruction of the ammunition dump *Destruction of the fuel dump The raid was considered a complete success, reminiscent of the type of operation carried out by the SAS in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. One of the officers involved, Captain Hamilton, was later killed in another SAS action near

Port Howard Port Howard (Spanish/Argentine name: ''Puerto Mitre''; sometimes ''Puerto Howard'' in Spanish) is the largest settlement on West Falkland (unless Fox Bay is taken as one settlement, instead of two). It is in the east of the island, on an inlet o ...

. The Argentine forces continued occupying the position until they were evacuated later in the war; the last troops were recovered on 1 June 1982 by two Argentine Navy Sea King helicopters.

Background

Planning

Initial intentions

Reconnaissance

The raid

Action

Exfiltration

Aftermath

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading